5 Things You Didn't Know About M&M's

M&M's are one of America's most popular candies. Seriously, is there anybody who hasn't had a handful of M&M's at one point or another? But even if you never leave home without a fun-size bag in your pocket, we bet there are some things you didn't know about this "colorful button-shaped chocolate."

"M&M" Stands for Mars & Murrie
The Hershey Company had full control of rationed chocolate during World War II, so when Forrest Mars, the son of Mars Candy Company founder Frank Mars, set out to create a chocolate pellet covered in a candy shell, he needed to partner with someone from Hershey. None other than Bruce Murrie, the son of Hershey's president William Murrie, agreed to go into business with Mars, providing Hershey's chocolate in return for a 20 percent stake in the company, called M&M Limited (after Mars & Murrie). Mars bought out Murrie's interest in 1948 and became one of Hershey's main competitors, but the candy's name stuck.

Each M&M Contains About 4.7 Calories
Each one weighs about .91 grams, or .032 ounces.

Peanut M&M's Were All Originally Tan
They were introduced in 1954, and didn't become multicolored until several years later.

Dulce de Leche M&M's Were Once Available
They were introduced in a handful of markets with large Hispanic populations in 2001, but were phased out by early 2003.

Billy West and J.K. Simmons Voice the Red and Yellow 'Spokescandies'
The duo has appeared in numerous commercials, most notably the one where Santa discovers that "they do exist!" West is best known for also voicing Doug in Doug, Stimpy in Ren & Stimpy, and Fry in Futurama; Veteran character actor Simmons is familiar from his portrayal of Vernon Schillinger on HBO's Oz and won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Whiplash.